Abandoned pets swamp shelters
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — They’ve been tossed over fences, tied to gates and even left with a $20 bill under their collar. Abandoned animals are overwhelming Puerto Rico’s shelters, which were already struggling to cope with the hundreds of thousands of stray animals that were roaming the island even before Hurricane Maria approached.
Hundreds of dogs, cats and even the occasional pet pig and fighting cock have been left at shelters as people flee hardships on the U.S. territory or find they can no longer cope with animals as they try to rebuild their lives after the Category 4 storm that hit three months ago. Many animals are just left to fend for themselves in the streets.
“The situation is horrible,” said Claribel Pizarro, executive assistant at the Humane Society of Puerto Rico. “They want to turn in pets every single day. ... There are a lot of animals being abandoned when we tell them our shelter is full and that there’s a waiting list.”
At least 250 people have put their pets on the list for the Humane Society’s no-kill shelter, which has a capacity of 80 animals but currently has 120. Some live in cages on the roof because there is no room inside, she said.
In the immediate aftermath of the hurricane, a variety of groups flew more than 1,000 animals to no-kill shelters on the U.S. mainland, but animal activist Sylvia Bedrosian said overburdened shelters are again running out of space and resources and are reporting a drop in adoptions.
“People have always abandoned pets, but not with the magnitude we’re seeing now,” she said.
Most of Puerto Rico’s animal shelters were badly damaged by Hurricane Maria. Volunteers at one had to wade through waist-deep waters carrying dogs to safety, while other shelters lost their roofs, food and cages.
While there are no official figures, and estimates vary wildly, activists say the number of stray animals increased after the hurricane because many shelters were closed. And with many veterinarian offices also closed, animal-rights activists say they are seeing a sudden jump in the number of puppies due to the interruption in spay and neuter operations immediately after Maria hit.
Shelter officials and volunteers now hope to raise at least $200,000, in part through private donations, to help rebuild five shelters.
At the biggest shelter, located on the south coast, director Maribel Ortiz said she is caring for more than 750 pets at her Canine Sanctuary of Divine Mercy, including 100 abandoned after the hurricane.
“It’s too many, right?” she said. “There are a lot of (animals), and we’ve been criticized for that, but if they’re roaming around, we’re not going to leave them behind.”
The shelter’s roof is collapsing, and the supermarket that used to donate leftover food to help feed the dogs has permanently closed because it was so badly damaged, leaving Ortiz with fewer resources to meet a growing demand.
NEW YORK — Television host Catt Sadler is leaving the E! Entertainment network in a pay-equity dispute.
Sadler, a cohost of “Daily Pop” and “E! News,” said she’s leaving her “dream job” after learning that on-air partner Jason Kennedy makes nearly twice as much as she does.
Sadler said she had to take a stand, arguing in an online statement that “how can we make it better for the next generation of girls if we do not stand for what is fair and just?”
The network wouldn’t discuss salaries, but it said it compensates employees fairly based on their roles. Kennedy has more extensive duties than Sadler at E!, including work on its red-carpet coverage, the network said.
But Sadler, who said she was “denied repeatedly” in salary negotiations, said: “I have two decades experience in broadcasting and started at the network the very same year as my close friend and colleague that I adore.
EUSTIS, Fla. — Rising country music star Michael Ray has been arrested on DUI and drug charges after he crashed into a car in front of him at a McDonald’s drive-thru in Florida.
Police said in a news release that the crash happened early Wednesday in Eustis, Florida. Ray was arrested under his legal name, Michael Ray Roach.
An arrest report says Ray told investigators his foot slipped off the pedal of his 2012 Jeep. The officer wrote that Ray had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech. Officers found a glass bottle with brown liquid in his vehicle. Ray told them it was “weed oil.”